It is customary to install commemorative plaques in funerary crypts or niches where information about the deceased will be engraved or otherwise displayed. This information typically includes the name, the date of birth, the date of death and the like. Commemorative plaques are usually made of stone or marble.
The plaques are fixed to the front face of a funerary crypt or niche shutter that closes off an enclosure within which the coffin or urn of the deceased will be stored. To fix the commemorative plaque to the crypt or niche shutter, commemorative plaque frames are used. The plaque frames are often made of bronze. One way to install the plaque and the frame on the crypt or niche shutter, consist in first manually holding the plaque against the crypt or niche shutter and then applying the frame over the plaque and fixing it to the shutter, with suitable fasteners. Alternately, some plaque frames allow the plaque to first be installed on the plaque frame itself, and the combined frame and plaque can then be attached to the crypt or niche shutter as a unit, for example by bolting the frame to the crypt or niche shutter. In both cases, manipulating (a) the plaque and (b) the frame, during installation, is cumbersome. This is true whether the plaque and frame are handled separately or as a unit.
Blank commemorative plaques are often pre-installed in funerary crypts or niches. When a user wishes to buy a funerary crypt or niche for himself (in advance) or for a deceased family member, the commemorative plaque will be removed from the frame and will be engraved with the desired markings. This increases the number of required handlings of the plaque and the frame, and consequently increases the possibility of accidentally breaking the plaque if it is dropped.